Top Senate Republicans Worried Potential Boycott of Cordray Hearing Will ‘Reflect Badly On Them’

GOP DIVIDED OVER PLANS BY LEE, WICKER TO CONTINUE BATTLING CORDRAY NOMINATION

SEN. CHUCK GRASSLEY (R-IA): “The caucus is still divided on what to do …” [Bloomberg, 1/7/11]

ROLL CALL: Senate GOP Not United on Nominations

POLITICO: Obama recess appointments: GOP stuck on response

FOXNEWS: With GOP Divided on Recess Appointments, Some Strike Out on Their Own

GOP SENATORS: CONTINUED FIGHT ‘NOT ASTUTE THING TO DO’ … ‘WOULD RATHER PURSUE POSITIVE AGENDA’

SEN. BOB CORKER (R-TN): “I would be surprised if you see mass reprisals. I just don’t think that’s what’s going to happen. I don’t think anybody is going to consider that to be a very astute or intelligent thing to do.” [Politico, 1/26/11]

SEN. RON JOHNSON (R-WI): “I don’t think that’d be a particularly effective strategy. I would much rather pursue a positive agenda.” [Politico, 1/26/11]

SEN. MIKE CRAPO (R-ID): “I don’t think to gum up the process out of spite would be helpful. We need to be about the business of building solutions.” [Politico, 1/26/11]

REPUBLICANS DEFECTING FROM PLANS TO BOYCOTT BANKING HEARING

GOP SENATORS WORRIED BOYCOTT ‘WOULD REFLECT BADLY ON THEM.’ According to National Journal, Republicans on the Senate Banking Committee “were unable to get all GOP committee members to sign onto a full-scale boycott. A Senate staffer who declined to be named said that after Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., declined to skip the hearing, several other committee members decided to attend, fearing Corker’s presence would reflect badly on them.” [National Journal, 1/26/11]

“This was not a vote against Mr. Cordray. Today, Republicans voted against Main Street just to protect Wall Street. Republicans blocked an eminently qualified nominee to lead an agency charged with protecting working families from financial fraud and unfair practices. Republicans know that Mr. Cordray is the perfect nominee for the job. As Ohio’s Attorney General, he prosecuted financial predators and recovered more than $2 billion of the hard earned money of retirees and investors. Republicans know he is a great attorney who clerked for two Supreme Court Justices. They know his career has been characterized by bipartisan support.

“But Senate Republicans blocked him because they don’t like the agency he would lead – an agency charged with protecting consumers from the abusive Wall Street practices that led to the financial crisis. Without a director, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will be substantially weakened.

“This was the first time in Senate history a party blocked a qualified nominee solely because it disagrees with the existence of an agency that was created by law, through a bipartisan vote. Republicans should work with Democrats to strengthen protections for American consumers instead of working to weaken this important agency.”

“Richard Cordray has been a fierce advocate for working families throughout his career, and he is a smart choice to be the nation’s top advocate for American consumers. As Ohio’s Attorney General, Cordray was a leader in the fight against abusive and fraudulent practices in the mortgage industry, going to toe-to-toe with the largest banks in the country on behalf of Americans who were targeted by these unfair practices. I hope that Senate Republicans will work with Democrats to ensure that consumers in Nevada and around the country have an advocate for their interests on their side, instead of blocking the reforms that our financial system desperately needs.

“I thank Elizabeth Warren for her contributions over the past year in developing this consumer watchdog bureau, which was her idea in the first place. President Obama wisely asked her to get the young agency off the ground, and when the bureau opens their doors later this week, consumers will have a watchdog that will hold Wall Street accountable to Main Street.”